On Target:
Strategies to Improve
Student Test Scores
Grades 3 - 12
ESA Regions 6 & 7
Dear Educators:
As educators, we seem to struggle with various ethical dilemmas when it comes to testing and school
improvement. Is it right to teach to the test? Should we give students tricks and tips designed simply to
improve test scores? Should state tests influence our teaching, or student learning, for that matter?
The collective answer to these questions is quite simple: We should do all we can to ensure that a
student’s test scores reflect the sum of that student’s learning. Sadly, too often test scores reflect how
well students test rather than what they actually know. Consider the bright and over-achieving student
who freezes on test day. He does not sleep the night before the test day. Breakfast seems unappealing.
When the standardized test appears on his desk, he becomes nervous and jittery. Or, how about the
struggling student who has come so far in her learning but who seems to lose sight of all she has learned
when test day comes around?
Actually, the only ethical thing for an educator to do is to prepare a student to wisely and explicitly
approach a test—any test—with all of the strategies, skills, and yes, even tips and tricks, that he or she
needs to be successful. This little booklet won’t tell you what content to teach your students. It won’t
reveal any secrets about the tests. Hopefully, it will help you give students the confidence and security
they need to approach the test in a comfortable and self-assured manner. On Target: Strategies to Improve
Student Test Scores is the second in a series of strategy booklets created by South Dakota’s Education
Service Agencies 6 and 7 with support from the South Dakota Department of Education.
As so often happens in my life, when I need to find wisdom about a subject, I look for it in books. And,
as so often occurs, I find the greatest wisdom in stories written ostensibly for children but with so very
much to say to all of us grown-ups. When I think of test taking and of all that teachers do to prepare for
testing days, I am reminded of the wonderful Miss Bonkers created by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky. In
Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Miss Bonkers shares the following advice with her students:
“Don’t fret!” she said.
“You learned the things you need
To pass that test and many more—
I’m certain you’ll succeed.
We’ve taught you that the earth is round,
That red and white make pink,
And something else that matters more—
We’ve taught you how to think.”
Not bad advice for those of us who are educators: If we teach our students how to think, we will have
come a long way in preparing them for success and achievement not only on those dreaded testing days
but every day.
June Preszler
Education Specialist
SD Education Service Agency, Black Hills Region 7
Source
Seuss, Dr. and Jack Prelutsky. Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.
2
Table of Contents
No Child Left Behind and Student Success ....................................................................... 4
Testing Strategies for Teachers ............................................................................................. 5
Test Conditions That Foster Student Achievement .......................................................... 6
Test Taking Strategies and Testwiseness ............................................................................. 7
SCORER ............................................................................................................................. 8, 9
Mulitiple Choice Basics ........................................................................................................10
True/False Tests ....................................................................................................................11
Writing to the Prompt and Splashdown ..................................................................... 12, 13
Getting Ready for Test Day: Final Preparations ..............................................................14
Question – Answer Relationships ........................................................................ 15, 16, 17
Vocabulary and Test Success...............................................................................................18
Stress Busters .........................................................................................................................19
Yea or Nay/Why? Strategy ..................................................................................................20
Tried and True Math Tactics ...............................................................................................21
Solving Word Problems ........................................................................................................21
More Test Taking Strategies ................................................................................................22
Websites to Explore...............................................................................................................23
Editorial Credits
June Preszler, editor; Karen Fox, contributing editor; Gloria Gunn, designer;
Gary Skoglund, content consultant
The On Target strategy booklets are created by ESA 6 & 7 with support from the
South Dakota Department of Education
Copyright 2005: Black Hills Special Services Cooperative (BHSSC)
1925 Plaza Boulevard, Rapid City, SD 57702
BHSSC grants teachers permission to photocopy material for personal classroom use.
3
No Child Left Behind and Student Success
T
he No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) signed into law by President George W.
Bush on January 8, 2002, is recognized as one of the most aggressive reform
acts to face the education profession in history. While there are many components
to the act that affect teachers and students, the ultimate goal is that all students
will be proficient by 2014. The proficiency will be based on state assessments.
In South Dakota, a new test was developed and introduced in the spring of 2003.
This test is called the Dakota State Test of Educational Development or Dakota
STEP. The Dakota STEP measures student success in Reading and Mathematics as required by NCLB.
Students in Grades 3 through 8 and students in Grade 11 participate in the test. The number of students
tested each spring is over 70,000. The test is a multiple choice test that has additional items added to
ensure alignment to the South Dakota Content Standards in Reading and Math. A new Science
assessment will be added in 2007 but will not be used for accountability.
Research has shown that testwiseness and test-taking strategies help students perform better when taking
year-end summative tests. Simple things like adding horizontal numbers versus vertical numbers can
throw some students off. Providing students a reading passage with multiple choice answers that simulate
an actual assessment can prove helpful. Teaching students to know what a distracter is in a set of answers
is important. There are also commercial materials that can be purchased that simulate major achievement
tests. In the end, however, we must not overlook good teaching of the standards measured by Dakota
STEP for student success.
Hopefully, you will find the On Target guide a useful resource in better preparing students to take tests
like the Dakota STEP.
Gary Skoglund
Assessment Director
South Dakota Department of Education
4
Testing Strategies for Teachers
B
y setting the stage for successful testing situations, teachers can effectively improve student
experiences with standardized tests. San Diego’s Office of the Superintendent for its public school
system suggests that teachers need to prepare themselves to give tests. The idea is that by following
certain guidelines and formats regarding testing situations, teachers will be better able to set the stage for
successful test-taking situations for their students.
1. Prepare Yourself
• Review the examiner’s manual.
• Make sure you have enough test booklets, answer sheets, scratch paper, and pencils.
• Develop a plan for handling students who arrive late.
• Provide quiet activities for students who complete the test early.
• Regardless of how you feel, appear positive about the testing situations.
2. Prepare the Place
• If possible, give students the tests in their regular classroom.
• Provide students with comfortable seats and desks large enough to accommodate testing materials.
• Decide ahead of time if you will need classroom helpers on testing day.
• Make sure the testing room has good lighting and ventilation.
• Make sure the room will be free of noise and interruptions during testing time.
• Test in classroom-size groups.
3. Setting the Time
• Try to avoid testing on Monday morning and Friday afternoon.
• If a test is not timed, make sure you provide enough time for ALL students to complete the test.
• Avoid student test fatigue by keeping sessions as short as possible. In general, elementary students
should not test more than one hour per day. Older students can usually handle two testing
sessions a day, especially if one is in the morning and the other is in the afternoon.
• Get “chores” out of the way before the test begins. For example, make sure you take care of
bathroom and drink breaks before beginning the exam.
4. Before Testing
• Make sure students understand the purpose of the testing. Tests are to identify classroom and
school needs rather than to grade individual students.
• Encourage students to try to complete all items but to avoid spending too much time on any
one item.
• Remind students that they aren’t expected to know everything on a standardized test.
• Practice taking tests in formal testing conditions before the actual testing day.
5. During the Testing
• Move about the room. Watch to make sure students are following directions and have all of the
needed materials.
• Clarify test directions, if needed.
• Post remaining time on the chalkboard or overhead.
• Note behavior that may invalidate results (distractions, illness, tardiness).
Source
From the Office of the Superintendent, San Diego City Schools, Testing Unit
5
Test Conditions That
Foster Student Achievement
Environmental Conditions
Physical Conditions
• Appropriate lighting
• Optimal thermal conditions
• Familiar surroundings in
a normal classroom
environment
• Well-hydrated students
• Well-nourished students
• Well-rested students
Time
Time
OtherFactors
Factors
Other
• No more than 60 minutes at
a session
• No more than one session
per day for elementary
students, two sessions for
secondary students
• Extra time at the end of
each test before moving on
to the next test
• Minimal amount of noise
distractions
• Lack of disruptions
• Appropriate seating that
avoids crowding
• Positive attitude of the
testing administrator
• Follow-up discussions that
include conversations about
test results
6
Test-Taking Strategies and Testwiseness
W
hile test-taking strategies are skills students can use during testing, testwiseness focuses on
commonly used semantic and structural patterns utilized by test developers. For example,
a test-taking strategy is to always make a calculated guess. Testwise students, on the other hand,
understand patterns commonly found in most assessments. They recognize that test designers use
words such as “never” to indicate that an answer is probably incorrect.
Researcher Stuart Katz, University of Georgia, conducted an experiment with students to see how well
they could perform on reading comprehension questions even if they did not read the passage. The study
showed that students were able to correctly answer nearly 40 percent of the comprehension questions
without reading the passages. “Theoretically, if you eliminate the passage, you should not be able to
perform better than chance. But people are doing much better than chance. They’re test wise—they’re
able to use tricks of various sorts to find the correct answer. This can’t be due to reading comprehension
skills because the passage is not there.”
Teachers can help students get the best possible scores by teaching students the following strategies and
testwiseness techniques.
Test-Taking Strategies
• Read and carefully follow all of the direction for the test.
• Read each question. Try to decide whether the question is an In the Book question or an In My
Head question (see QAR, page 15).
• Before looking at the options in a multiple choice question, ask yourself if you already know the
answer. If so, look to find that answer among the choices.
• Before marking your answer, read all of the options.
• Read the question again, this time with the answer you selected to see if it sounds correct.
• Try to use your time well, so that you have the time to finish the entire test and then go back
over it to check your answers.
• Learn strategies that you can apply to testing situations—QAR, SCORE, Splashdown.
• When taking a multiple choice test omit questions that you are unsure of and return to them if
time permits.
• Unless there is a penalty for an incorrect answer, make a calculated guess even if you are unsure
of the answer.
• Try to eliminate any options that obviously cannot be correct.
• Look for options that do not grammatically match the question stem since they are usually
incorrect answers.
• Pay attention to questions that seem related. Sometimes the answer to one multiple choice
question can be found in the stem of another.
Testwiseness
• When two options are similar, neither one is likely to be correct.
• The most general option is likely to be the correct option.
• The longest or most complete option is likely to be the correct option.
• The option containing technical language is likely to be the correct one.
• When two of the options are opposite, one of them is always incorrect, and the other is usually,
but not always, correct.
• As a last resort, select an option that is neither the first nor the last choice. Options B and C are
somewhat more likely to be correct than options A or D.
• Options with qualifiers such as most are usually correct.
• Options with absolute statements such as all or none are usually incorrect.
Test-taking strategies and testwiseness suggestions adapted from Josephine Hartmann, Reading Specialist and TIE
Consultant.
7
SCORER
S
CORER is a strategy that helps students do better on tests and quizzes by preparing them to
effectively use test time and teaching them test-taking skills for better scores.
Tests generally check for two things:
1. What a student actually knows about a content area.
SCORER
2. How well a student can take tests.
SCORER helps students develop their test-taking skills.
Steps:
1. Introduce students to the SCORER process by providing them
with a handout. Consider converting the handout into a
bookmark form that students can keep with them.
2. Introduce and practice the strategy with students on a daily
assignment.
3. Direct students to work in pairs and practice the strategy.
S
= Schedule
time
C
= Clue
words
help
4. Incorporate the strategy into the routine of classroom
assignments until students are familiar with the strategy and
its use becomes a habit.
5. Practice the strategy by applying it to classroom tests and
quizzes. The practice prepares students for standardized
testing situations.
O=
6. Remind students to use the SCORER strategy in all testing
situations.
R
= Read
directions
E
= Estimate
answers
R=
8
Omit
difficult
questions
Review
test
SCORER
S = Schedule your time.
• Look over the whole test.
• Decide how much time you have for each question.
• Use all the time given.
C = Clue words give you help.
• Sometimes a word in the question will help you think of the answer.
• Clue words include explain, factor, solve, compare, and contrast.
O = Omit difficult questions.
• Stay calm.
• Mark questions you don’t know with a star (*).
• Keep going and then come back to skipped questions when you are finished with the other
questions.
R = Read directions carefully.
• Understand the question before you answer test questions.
• Highlight or circle key words in the directions.
• Visualize the steps in your mind.
E = Estimate your answers.
• Read a difficult question through three times.
• If you don’t know the answer to a question, make a best guess and ask yourself, “Does this
make sense?”
• Check the value of the question. If it is worth three points, make sure you have three points in
your answer.
• Try not to leave any blanks or unanswered questions.
R = Review the test.
• Make sure each question is answered.
• Check over the bubble sheet.
• Make sure your name is on the test.
Sources
Moore, A. Roger. Nine Quick Learning Strategies for Success. “Strategy 6: SCORER for Tests.” NorQuest
College: 2005. 12 June 2005 <http://student.norquest.ca/onlinecourses/strategies/strategies/scorer.htm>.
Walker, Catherine and Edgar Schmidt. Smart Tests: Teacher-Made Tests that Help Students. Ontario, Canada:
Pembroke, 2004.
9
Multiple Choice Basics
M
ultiple choice tests often follow a basic format. When students understand the format, they
increase their chances of doing well. Model and practice the following strategies with students.
1. Before beginning a test, make sure you know if you will be penalized for guessing. Many tests
record correct answers, but some exams subtract points for incorrect answers. Standardized tests
in South Dakota DO NOT penalize students for guessing.
2. Read each question and try to answer it in your mind BEFORE looking at the answers.
1. The capital of South Dakota is—
a. Rapid City.
You may know that the answer is Pierre, so look for that answer
b. Sioux Falls.
among the choices. By thinking of the correct answer first, you are
c. Aberdeen.
less likely to be fooled by incorrect options.
d. Pierre.
3. However, be sure to look at all of the answers before actually marking your choice. Sometimes
there can be more than one correct answer among the options provided.
2. A popular Black Hills tourist attraction is
a. Mount Rushmore.
Even though Mount Rushmore may be the most well-known
b. Crazy Horse National Monument.
attraction in the Black Hills, the other sites also attract visitors
c. the historic town of Deadwood.
each year; therefore, d is the best answer to this question.
d. all of the above.
4. Do not spend too much time on any one question. If none of the answers seems correct, you
should make a guess and mark the question to return to it later.
5. Use strategies to help with difficult questions:
• Eliminate options that you know are too difficult.
• Question options that grammatically don’t fit with the stem (the first part of the question).
• Question options that seem completely unfamiliar.
• “All of the above” is the likely choice if you KNOW at least two options are correct.
• When unsure about number answers, toss out high and low options.
• Look alike options test your level of understanding. One of the options is probably correct, so
choose the best one. Eliminate choices that basically mean the same thing—they actually
cancel each other out.
• Double negatives present problems for many students. Try to create a positive statement and
then consider your choices.
• Remember that information relevant to one question is sometimes given away in another test
item.
• Learn how to eliminate unlikely options. Many questions really have only two logical
choices— the other options are throwaways.
• Options that include broad terms such as always, never, necessarily, only, must, completely, and
totally tend to be incorrect. Options that include qualifiers tend to be correct. These options
include words often, sometimes, perhaps, may, and generally.
Sources
Landsberger, Joe. “Multiple Choice Tests.” Study Guides and Strategies. < http://www.studygs.net/tsttak3.htm>.
Runte, Robert. Test Guide. 12 June 2005 <http://www.uleth.ca/edu/runte/tests/credit.html>.
Thompson, Irene. “Tips for Multiple Choice Exams.” Test-Taking Strategies. Manoa: University of Hawaii, NFLRC.
10
True/False Tests
G
uidelines for answering true and false questions are similar to those for answering multiple choice
questions. However, students can still benefit from reviewing the following tips for responding to
true/false questions.
1. When in doubt, answer TRUE.
• Usually, there are more true answers than false answers on a test.
2. Look for any single factor that will make a question FALSE.
• Don’t stop reading when you see one true thing; the false portion may appear at the end of the
question.
3. Look for extreme modifiers; they tend to make the question FALSE.
• Extreme modifiers include all, none, absolutely, never, worst, nobody, everybody.
4. Look for qualifying words; they tend to make a question true.
• Qualifiers include usually, frequently, often, sometimes, probably, few.
5. Pay attention to words that change the meaning of a statement.
• Prefixes change the meaning of words (see prefix list below).
• Double negatives make a positive. For example, not unusually really means usually.
6. Questions that state a reason or justify a statement tend to be false.
• The reason portion of the statement tends to make the statement false. Reason or justifying
words include since, because, when, and if.
• The reason or justification is often incorrect or incomplete.
Common Prefixes
a – not/without (aside - to one side or out of the way)
anti – against (antifreeze - a chemical substance that keeps a liquid from freezing)
audio – to hear (audiovisual - combines sound and pictures)
auto – self (autograph - a person’s signature)
bi – two (bilingual - a bilingual person speaks two languages)
co – together (cooperate - to work together)
de – from (decapitate - to remove the head of a person or creature)
dis – not (disbelief - refusal to believe something)
en/em – in/within (enroll - to join a club or group)
en – to cause or provide (enable - to make it possible for someone to do something)
ex – out of, away from (exile - to send someone away or out of the country)
extra – outside, beyond (extraordinary - unsual or remarkable)
fore – previous, in front (forehead - the top part of the head, foreleg - one of the front legs of an
animal, forerunner - someone who has come before)
il/im/in/ir not (illegal - not legal, impossible - not possible, inadequate - not good enough,
irresistible - can’t be resisted)
mal – bad (maltreat - to badly or meanly treat a person or animal)
micro – small (microorganism - a small living thing that can’t be seen without a microscope)
mid – middle (midseason - in the middle of the season)
non – not (nonfiction - a true story, not a fictional one)
post – later, after (postwar - events that occur after a war ends)
pre – earlier, before (preschool - before elementary school, premature - happening too soon)
re – back, again (rearrange - to arrange things differently)
sub – under, less than (subdivide - to divide or separate into small groups)
Sources
Bell, Doug. “Guidelines for Answering True-False Questions. Learning Strategies. BYU. 12 June 2005
<http://www.byu.edu/ccc/learning/strategy.php>.
Landsberger, Joe. “True/False Tests.” Study Guides and Strategies. Dec. 20, 2004.
“Students.” Harvard-Westlake School. 2001. 12 June 2005 <http://www.harvardwestlake.com/students/studyskills/
chapter6.html>.
11
Writing to the Prompt
A
lthough students don’t need to study a particular writing content in order to prepare for a standardized writing test, it is helpful for students to know what readers are looking for when they score
written essays.
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Companies and ACT provide the following suggestions for teachers and students:
Pre-Write
• Teach students to read prompts critically. Critical reading helps students discover the purpose and
audience of the writing assignment. Students need to write to different kinds of prompts. Prompts
can ask them to persuade, argue, explain, give an opinion or describe.
• Teach students to use pre-writing tools to organize information:
– Outlines
– Clusters
– Graphic Organizers
• Throughout the year, provide students with opportunities to practice writing to prompts. Give
students sample prompts that mimic those which frequently appear on high-stakes tests.
Incorporate the prompts into your class activities so students get used to writing responses in
testing situations.
• Remember that responding to a prompt is not the same as writing to a content essay question.
A prompt is going to encourage students to draw on their personal experiences.
• Let students know that if they have a 30 minute test writing window, they should plan to use no
more than 10 minutes for pre-writing activities.
• Define pre-writing activities for students. Ideas, examples, reasons, and arguments can be used to
pre-write.
• Provide students with rubrics like those used in testing situations.
Introduction
• Make sure students practice writing strong opening paragraphs. Strong introductions clearly state
what the essay will be and attract the reader’s attention.
• Questions, definitions, anecdotes and examples are options for making strong introductions.
• Remind students that they should restate the prompt but not repeat it. In other words, they need to
express their thesis statement in their own words—not the words of the original question:
– Prompt: Describe your idea of a perfect day.
– Thesis Restated: A perfect day for me would be one more day that I could spend fishing with
my brother in our favorite pond behind our grandparents’ house.
• Make sure students understand that the introduction should be brief and to the point. If the
students will be writing a timed test, writing the introduction shouldn’t steal time from the
development of the essay’s body.
• Make sure students understand that the importance of a thesis statement. The statement provides a
focus for the rest of the essay. Practice writing thesis statements.
The Body
• Remind students that the body develops the introduction’s thoughts and ideas.
• Teach students to write essay bodies using a pattern. Compare/contrast, advantages/disadvantages,
logical arguments, points of description are options for organizing an essay.
• Require students to use examples, evidence and ideas that support the thesis.
• Require students to vary sentence structure and sentence length when they write in class.
• Provide students with practice using transitional words.
12
The Conclusion
• The conclusion is often the forgotten portion of a student’s response to a writing prompt. Too
often the essay just ends—either because the student ran out of time or because the student ran
out of ideas.
• Expose students to strong and weak endings. Ask them to identify the differences. Give students
practice time to change weak endings into strong conclusions.
• Teach your students to refer to the purpose of the essay again before attempting to write a
conclusion. After carefully considering the purpose, students can then determine how to
approach the final paragraph. A final, forceful point? A summary of an opinion? A description
of the impact of an event? An effective conclusion responds to the purpose of the essay with
clarity and power.
• Teach students that effective conclusions bring an essay full circle by taking the reader back to the
introduction and reinforcing the writer’s purpose.
• If all else fails, show students how to turn introductions into conclusions by restating opening
paragraphs.
Sources
“Structuring Essays for Exams. Teaching Today. Glencoe-McGraw Hill. 12 June 2005
<http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/62>.
“Ten Quick Tips for Mastering the Essay Test.” Teaching Today. Glencoe-McGraw Hill. 12 June 2005
<http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/downloads/pdf/mastering_the_essayPDF.pdf>.
“Tips for the Writing Test.” ACT Test Prep. 2005. 12 June 2005
<http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/tips/writing.html>.
“Splashdown”or “Braindrain” Strategy
What is a “Splashdown” or “Braindrain” Strategy?
S
plashdown is a strategy to use with students prior to beginning a longer assessment task. Students are
encouraged to take two minutes, using a scrap paper or the bottom of the test paper to jot down
keywords, memory triggers such as dates, names, formulas, and other special information they can use in
completing the assessment task.
This information will serve as their outline. Some students may find it helpful to take “splashdown”
information and organize it into a web or list.
Source
Walker, Catherine and Edgar Schmidt. Smart Tests: Teacher-Made Tests that Help Students. Ontario, Canada:
Pembroke, 2004.
13
Getting Ready for Test Day: Final Preparations
Y
ou’ve taught the content; you’ve covered the curriculum. Still, you’re not sure. You wonder, “Will
my students be ready come testing day?” A few strategies remain that you can cover with your
students just prior to taking an exam which will better prepare them for the big day. Teaching Today from
Glencoe Online suggests that teachers can pave the way for a successful exam day when they set aside
time during the weeks prior to the exam and focus on specific skills students will need.
• Discuss the format of the standardized tests with students.
– Review the test format—how will the test be set up and what areas will be covered. Make sure
students know what to expect.
– Review the types of questions that will appear on the exam—multiple choice, true or false,
essay.
– Conduct individual conferences with students to point out areas where they are strong and
specific points they should review. Such conferences have yielded positive results in several
South Dakota schools.
• Practice standardized tests. Practicing with the format of the test can dramatically affect student
test results.
– Practice with sample tests and questions.
– Study questions as a class or in small groups.
– Focus on finding clues to answers and testing formats rather than identifying the right/correct
answer.
• Review the test-taking strategies you’ve covered earlier in the year.
• Review content covered on the standardized test.
– Review specific standards covered on the exam with students.
– Make a game or activity out of the review time to keep the stress level at a minimum.
• Set the stage for test day.
– Prepare students the day before the test with a few teacher-made test questions that mimic the
kinds and styles of questions they will be faced with on test day.
– Don’t underestimate your power as the teacher. Be your students’ cheering section and reinforce
their confidence.
Adapted in part from Glencoe Online’s Teaching Today, <http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.
phtml/print/24>.
14
Question-Answer Relationships (QAR)
(Raphael and Au)
Q
uestion-Answer Relationships (QAR) is a reading strategy that is widely used to aid student
comprehension. However, a side benefit of the strategy is that it provides a valuable approach to
test preparation, according to Dr. Taffy Raphael, originator of the strategy.
Although the strategy can be used throughout the reading process, when used specifically to improve
test-taking skills, it is important to make the connection between the types of questions asked and how
a student goes about finding the best answer to those questions. Frequently, students approach comprehension tests without a method for conquering the test format. In particular, they either run out of time
or get frustrated because they are spending too much time searching needlessly for answers within the
text. Therefore, it is helpful for students to understand that answers to some questions will not be found
in the text.
Basically, questions can be answered by finding the answer “in the book” or “in my head.”
In the Book questions can be divided into two categories:
• Right There: The answer is usually found in a single sentence within the text. Often the words in
the question are also in the text.
Examples:
– How many free throws did Shaquille O’Neal make in Thursday night’s game?
– What does the Q in QAR stand for?
• Think and Search: The answer is in the text, but might need to be combined with information
found in more than one place.
Examples:
– Summarize the QAR reading strategy.
– Give the names of the two top scoring players in the basketball game.
In My Head questions can also be further subdivided into two categories:
• On My Own: These questions are less common on a standardized test because they do not
require the student to use information from the text itself. On My Own questions are questions
that can be answered without reading the text.
Examples:
– What makes a good basketball player?
– What’s the best strategy you have for improving student test scores?
• Author and Me: The answer can’t be found in the text, but you need to combine what you know
with what you learned from the author.
Examples:
– Describe some advantages that might occur when students become familiar with the QAR
strategy.
– In what ways is your high school basketball team similar to a professional basketball team?
15
QAR
B = Right There Questions
• The answer is right there in the text.
• The answer is found in one sentence within the text.
B+ = Think and Search
• The answer is in the text but probably not in one single place.
• In order to find the answer, students need to think and search in several parts of the article or
text for the answer.
• Examples of think and search questions:
– The details needed to solve a math story problem
– Questions that state “according to the article…”
– Questions that ask “what was NOT true according to the article…”
H = On My Own
• Answer is found in the reader’s own background knowledge.
• Reader did not even have to read the information in order to answer the question.
H+ = Author and Me
• The answer is found using the reader’s background knowledge combined with thinking skills
and information gained from the text.
• While the answer is implied in the text, it won’t be found in a statement from the text. Students
can’t find an Author and Me answer by going back and searching through the material or
reading passage.
• Examples of author and me questions:
– Author’s feeling, tone, purpose, reason for writing, etc.
– Fact and opinion questions
– Conclusion questions
– Main idea questions
– Vocabulary questions
Adapted from information provided by the Minnesota Reading Best Practice Network, 2001.
Steps for Teaching QAR
1. Select or create a short text to use as a model for introducing the strategy. Newspaper articles
work well. Create a series of questions regarding the article. Make sure you use all types of
questions: Right There, Think and Search, On My Own, Author and Me.
2. Go over the questions with the students before reading the text. If the questions are multiple
choice, ask student to cover up the answers.
3. Students label each question. Easy labels include B (In the Book, Right There), B+ (In the Book,
Think and Search), H (In My Head, On My Own), H+ (In My Head, Author and Me).
4. Before reading the article, discuss the labels the students created for the questions. Sometimes the
categories may not be clear cut. It is not essential that all students come up with the same category.
Sometimes a student will say he or she knew the answer; therefore, it’s an In My Head question,
while another student may have labeled the question Think and Search.
5. Read the article and answer the questions.
6. Model the process several times with students before asking them to work in pairs or
independently.
7. Encourage students to label questions on teacher-made tests and standardized tests.
16
QAR
W
hile QAR is a strategy in and of itself, it requires students to utilize a variety of other strategies in
order to find or come up with the best answers to questions.
QAR
Comprehensive Strategy
Right There
1. Scanning
Think & Search
1. Identifying important information
2. Summarizing
3. Comparing/contrasting
4. Skimming
5. Clarifying
On My Own
1. Connecting to the topic
2. Activating prior knowledge
Author & Me
1. Predicting
2. Visualizing
3. Making inferences
4. Making text to self connections
5. Making text to text connections
Why Use QAR?
Unfortunately, too often students approach tests with a handful of strategies that don’t work well for
them in a testing situation. Some of the strategies are inappropriate; others are poor coping habits that
they’ve developed over the years:
1. Many students will think that they can guess their way through a multiple choice test. These
students sometimes wonder, “How difficult could it be to pick the best one out of four?”
2. Students look for the words in the question that match the text. Sometimes it works; frequently this
plan doesn’t pay off.
3. Students assume that questions follow the order of the text. They think once they’ve found the
first answer, the second will appear in the text chronologically, and so on.
4. While some test takers neglect to search the text for answers, others will go back to the text no
matter what the question is. These students can be helped by the QAR process because the
students will learn that not all answers can be found in one place.
If a student can figure out how to answer a question prior to reading the article, then the student can
approach each question deliberately and with a plan in mind to achieve the answer.
Sources
Kamehameha Schools. Honolulu, Hawaii. 2002. 12 June 2005 <http://kapalama.ksbe.edu/elementary/resource/
rqar.html>.
Buehl, Doug. Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning. 2nd ed. Newark, DE: IRA, 2001, 106-110.
Facilitator’s Handbook. Secondary Reading Academy, Minnesota Reading Best Practices Network. 2000.
Jones, Raymond C. “Question-Answer Relationships.” ReadingQuest.org: Making Sense in Social Studies. 1999. 12 June
2005 <http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/qar.html>.
Raphael, Taffy E., and Kathryn H. Au. “Question-Answer Relationships: What’s New?” IRA Featured Session,
IRA Spring Conference, Reno, NV, May, 2004.
“Reading Strategy of the Month: Modified QAR.” Florida Online Reading Professional Development. February, 2005. 12
June 2005 <http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/forpd/strategies/stratqar.html>.
17
Vocabulary and Test Success
S
tandardized tests have as much to do with vocabulary as they do with content understanding.
According to Kendra Wagner, Seattle Pacific University, vocabulary makes up 75 percent of
comprehension. Wagner says if a student doesn’t understand three to five words on any given page,
comprehension is inhibited. If students don’t understand the vocabulary of the question, they are unable
to solve the problems. E.D. Hirsch contends that students need to know 90 percent of the words in any
given format in order to comprehend the text.
Steps:
1. Instructors can help students conquer test vocabulary by preparing them for the words which
frequently appear on tests. Several academic word lists are available, including the following:
• The Academic Word List, compiled by Averil Coxhead in 2000, contains 10 subsets of
commonly used academic words. The subsets are available at her website:
<http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/awl/index.html>.
• Jim Burke’s Academic Vocabulary List is a listing of words which commonly appear in textbook
(and test) directions. As Burke says, “You can’t expect to succeed in assignments if you don’t
understand the directions”:
<http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/acvocabulary2.pdf>.
2. Teach students the word associations and synonyms behind the words of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
These words frequently appear in standardized tests.
• Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate,
recall, repeat, reproduce, state
• Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate,
recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate
• Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate,
practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write
• Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate,
discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test
• Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate,
manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write
• Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict,
rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate
Sources
Bloom’s Taxonomy. OfficePort. 12 June 2005 <http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm>.
Burke, Jim. “The Academic Vocabulary List.” englishcompanion.com. 12 June 2005
<http://www.englishcompanion.com/pdfDocs/acvocabulary2.pdf>.
Coxhead, Averil. The Academic Word List. School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. 12 June 2005
<http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/awl/index.html>.
Hirsch, E.D. “Reading Comprehension Requires Knowledge of Words and the World.” American Educator.
Spring: 2003.
Wagner, Kendra. Seattle Pacific University. email correspondence. 12 May 2005.
18
Teaching Today’s Stress Buster’s Guide
G
lencoe’s Teaching Today from Glencoe Online provides advice for breaking out of the clutches
caused by test stress. The guide reminds readers that the body can experience good stress from
positive situations. Positive stress can occur in an athlete participating in an exciting basketball game or
flutist preparing to begin a music solo at a concert. Good stress causes the release of the hormone
epinephrine. This hormone increases attention. However, when bad stress—during an argument with a
close friend or getting ready to begin a test for which a student is unprepared—the hormone cortisol is
released. This hormone causes negative emotions.
Teaching Today suggests that wise teachers help students feel good stress when approaching the
challenges presented by testing situations.
Students can “harness the power of positive stress” by following these suggestions:
• Be optimistic. Imaging positive outcomes will allow you to see solutions you might have
otherwise missed. For example: visualize the testing situation and see yourself acing the test.
• Keep things in perspective. Sometimes we overemphasize situations when we feel stressed.
Remember, a test is just one indicator of learning.
• Keep a sense of humor. If approaching a task you would rather not do, try to make a game out
of it. If the task is a test, be prepared with the test-taking strategies outlined in the booklet. In
this case, the game would be using the strategies and skills you’ve learned to help you do your
best on the test.
• Make studying and school a priority. When you feel confident in your learning, negative stress
levels decrease.
• Prepare for the day of the test. Getting a good night’s sleep, eating a nutritious breakfast, and even
completing a few warm-up questions the day of the test will get you in the test-taking mindset.
Source
“High Stakes Testing.” Teaching Today Online. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. 03 June 2005
<http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/tiparchive.phtml/5>
19
Yea or Nay/Why? Strategy
T
he Yea or Nay/Why reading strategy helps students develop a deeper understanding of the
vocabulary words presented in their texts and/or lessons. The process requires students to create
synonyms and to explain why the synonym is or is not an adequate definition for the word. By sharing
synonyms with other classmates, students develop a deeper understanding of the vocabulary word.
While helpful in the presentation of content vocabulary, the strategy also helps students prepare for
testing situations if teachers expose students to words which commonly appear on standardized tests
(see Vocabulary and Test Success, page 18).
Steps:
1. Select content vocabulary and/or vocabulary words that frequently appear on tests.
2. Model strategy by writing questions or statements that use the selected vocabulary words.
3. Read the statements to the students and ask the students to answer Yea or Nay as to whether or
not the words are being used correctly.
4. Select students to explain why the word is or isn’t used correctly.
5. Practice with students working in pairs.
6. Practice with students working independently.
Example:
• If something is significant, is it essential?
• When the author foreshadowed the climax, she summarized the story.
Source
Bavis, Peter A. and Susan A. Lofton, “Instructional Strategies to Prepare Students for Standardized Tests.”
ASCD Spring Conference: Orlando, April, 2005.
20
Tried and True Math Tactics
S
tandardized mathematics test items usually focus on the following areas:
• Computation and measurement skills
• Reasoning ability
• Number sense
• Problem solving
In preparing students for tests, it is helpful to emphasize higher-order thinking, investigations, and
conceptual development. Scholastic provides the following tactics for teachers to follow while preparing
students for standardized mathematics tests.
Steps:
1. Make word problems a priority.
• Weave word problems into daily class routines.
• Seek opportunities to present word problems in all class content areas.
• Provide students with chances to create their own word problems.
• Provide students with word problems presented in a format similar to those that they will find in
testing formats.
2. Stress number sense.
• Number sense provides students with the ability to judge whether or not their answers are
reasonable within the context of the questions.
• Build number sense by focusing on context, visualizing skills, and finding relationships.
3. Focus on estimation.
• Students sometimes struggle with estimating because it feels like they are guessing; students
want to find the right numbers so they will first work the problem for the correct answer and
then round the answer.
4. Emphasize mental math.
• Tap into a student’s natural way of solving problems.
• Personal strategies can help students tackle complex math problems.
Source
From “Tried and True Math Tactics” by Nell K. Duke and Ron Ritchhart. Published in NO PAIN, NO GAIN in
teacher.scholastic.com. Copyright 2005 by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission.
Solving Word Problems
A
ustin Community College Library Services in Austin, Texas, suggests that test-takers ask themselves
three questions when solving word problems:
1. What am I being asked to find?
2. What information do I need in order to find the answer?
3. What clues or information is given within the problem to help me solve it?
After working the problem, students should make sure they have covered all of the information that they
were asked to find. The college test-taking center also says the following are characteristics of good
problem solvers:
• Positive attitude. Good problem solvers believe problems can be resolved through careful analysis
rather than fast answers.
• Concern for accuracy. Good problem solvers read a problem several times. They review judgments
and conclusions, avoid guessing, and check their work.
• Methodical planning. Good problem solvers break work into small, manageable sections. They
solve step-by-step, usually beginning with the simplest step.
• Concentration. Good problem solvers talk to themselves about what they are doing, create mental
pictures, relate problems to familiar experiences, and sometimes draw pictures.
Source
“Solving Problems.” ABC Study Guides: Austin Community College Library Services. 2002. 12 June 2005
<http://library.austincc.edu/help/strategies/stratgy3.htm>.
21
More Test Taking Strategies
Abbamont, Gary W. Test Smart!: Ready-To-Use Test Taking Strategies and Activities for Grades 5-12.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
Bridges, Lois. Assessment: Continuous Learning. Portland: Stenhouse, 1996
Calkins, Lucy et.al. The Teacher’s Guide to Standardized Reading Tests: Knowledge is Power. Portsmouth:
Heinemann, 1998.
Flippo, Rona F. Texts and Tests. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2004.
Popham, W. James. Test Better, Teach Better: The Instructional Role of Assessment. Alexandria: ASDC, 2003.
Taylor, Kathe and Sherry Walton. Children at the Center: A Workshop Approach to Standardized Test
Preparation. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1998.
Walker, Catherine and Edgar Schmidt. Smart Tests: Teacher-Made Tests that Help Students. Ontario, Canada:
Pembroke, 2004.
Wilde, Sandra. Testing and Standards: A Brief Encyclopedia. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2002.
22
Websites to Explore
ACT Test Prep
http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/
“Assessment.” Scholastic: Teachers’ Timely Topics
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/assessment/indexbk.htm
Brains Are Not Enough: A Guide to Effective Study Skills, Harvard-Westlake School,
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.harvardwestlake.com/students/studyskills/index.html
Communication Station, Waunakee Community School District, Waunakee, WI
http://www.waunakee.k12.wi.us/intermediate/test-taking.htm
Learning Strategies, Doug Bell, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT
http://www.byu.edu/ccc/learning/strategy.php
Nine Quick Learning Strategies for Success, Roger A. Moore, NorQuest College, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada
http://student.norquest.ca/onlinecourses/strategies/
Standardized Test Prep, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/Assessments/Preparation/preparation.html
Study Guides and Strategies by Joe Landsberger, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN
http://www.studygs.net/
Study Skills Help Page: Learning Strategies for Success, Carolyn Hopper, Middle Tennessee State
University, Mufreesboro, TN
http://www.mtsu.edu/~studskl/teststrat.html
Teaching Today. Glencoe-McGraw Hill
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/62
Test-Taking Skills, Austin Community College, Austin, TX
http://library.austincc.edu/help/testtake/
23
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